Pheonix Rising
by duowitchgrl
Summary: This is set after the last battle in Brood War. Terra's was a member of the destroyed UED fleet... what's left for her in this sector of space- what new allies will she find?


Disclaimer: I do not the ideas or characters from StarCraft. I only think the game is cool and are merely borrowing others genius. Please don't sue, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Terra's mine though.  
  
Prologue  
  
There was only blackness at first, nothing else, until the pain penetrated it. The pain brought light and with it, awareness. She was lying pinned between the seat and the consul. The smoking mess of electric wires, cracked blank screens, and controls fizzled next to her. Ignoring the stabbing pain in her shoulder and the numb prickly feeling in her legs, Terra pushed herself up. She hissed and yanked her hand back from the jagged edges that were once the flight controls, leaving a smear of blood. Blearily she glanced around and brushed the greasy brown locks of hair from her face. Nico was in the next seat, his neck at an odd angle, and his blue eyes blankly watching her from below his spiky thatch of blond hair. His goatee was splashed with blood from his parted lips. Terra felt slightly noxious and glanced away. She did not want to look at her mentor so instead she glanced around trying to find her bearings.  
  
No one else was alive. That was the first realization that came to her. The second was that she was not strong enough to pry herself out from beneath the chair. Idly she wondered how long it would take her to die trapped inside the Valkyrie aircraft. Would she starve first? Or maybe bleed slowly until the already dim interior faded completely. However, more horribly she knew what would come. The deceptively small dog-sized zerglings. Their little bodies would hop into the interior and curiously peer around. They would start to eat the dead, ripping the skin and muscle away from the bone. Gnawing the remains of her comrades, sipping their marrow. Then they would realize she was still alive and fall on her in frenzy. Terra would still be alive as they ate her. A ragged sob escaped from her and she felt the sting of tears down her dirty face.  
  
"We shall not die in vain. The Terran's shall be brought back under our heel. The Zerg and the Protoss will be exterminated like the vermin they are. Every soldier of the United Earth Directorate shall be a part of this glorious battle to ensure the safety of humanity and the grandeur of our nation!" Commander Victor Watts' closing to his last address rang in Terra's ears. We shall not die in vain. All they did was die- for a planet of people billions of miles away. Moreover, a society that did not care for the outcome. A government that wished to control all aspects including the penal and exploratory colonies they had not so long ago forgotten.  
  
Dammit! She had not wanted this, had not chosen it. The last thing she had ever expected to be in was the army. But she and many others in her sector had been gang pressed into "service" for the government. The UED did not allow for dissidents to their laws. Therefore, when a group of young, foolishly idealistic students set up a series of non-violent protests, the police force rounded them up and dumped them into the service. There was never a hearing. There was never anyone who went looking for them. Family members were told simply that the ones who disappeared were working for a higher purpose and were part of the UED now.  
  
Terra had known how to operate a flyer sled. So they taught her how to operate the great Valkyrie class warships. She became a conditioned soldier. There was no protest. There was nothing. You did not think. You did not protest, ever. A soldier, if they wanted to live, took their orders and accomplished their objective. Moreover, Terra wanted to live. Even when she wanted to give up, she wanted more to live. So, she quit thinking for herself and took her orders. She meshed with a "team" and became the Valkyrie 1172-905's co-pilot to Nico Seitz. They were a part of the 10th squadron, omega platoon under Commander Victor Watts. He was a UED loyalist with no imagination. A colorless man who lived only to protect Earth and follow orders. He sent his men to die with no reservations.  
  
Terra lay trapped dying. She started thinking for herself again. No fucking little zergling was going to eat or infest her. She twisted trying to find a position that would let her free. She knew the little creatures were out there, as well as Hydralisks and who knew whatever else. She did not think anything other than her arm was broken, but she was not sure. That would be miraculous considering the vehicle's crash into the craterous wasteland of Char. Since Terra was unsure how long she had been unconscious she was unsure what time it was now. It sounded as though the battle had ended though. There were no sounds of combat or engagement. Eventually the scavengers would come. No one from the UED would. From the com signals, she remembered before being struck by the giant Guardians they had been on retreat. Shit, I'm pathetic. There has to be a way out. She tried to struggle free some more, causing wrenching pain to shoot up her arm.  
  
Terra was gasping softly and biting back a moan of pain when she heard it. A soft chirping. Then a slight movement, something passing through the air. Sounds of rubbish being pushed. Metal scraping on metal. Sweat dripped down Terra's face. Oh God, oh God. This is it. Goodbye Terra Collins. This is the end. Then something poked her in her side.  
  
"No!" Terra screamed. Her good arm was mercifully on that side and she swung blindly. It connected into the thing with a solid thunk. "Take that you friggin' thing." The creature did not come closer. Instead, it hovered out of reach. It chirped at her indignantly. At least she thought it sounded indignant. Then it moved over to her left where she could see it. A Protoss probe. The thing thrummed at her. The best she could describe its sounds was like a humming, with some chirps and clicks. It sat for a while studying her. Then it reached out with an appendage and brushed her broken arm. It thrummed again.  
  
"Why do I get the feeling you want to help? Can you help me? Please get me out of here!" Terra cried. She looked at it intently. "I know our people aren't allies but don't leave me here. Oh, I wish you could talk!" She sighed in vain. But the little probe hummed emphatically and moved towards the chair.  
  
She had seen footage of the Protoss. The probes, from her understanding, had done the grunt work. They had harvested crystals and vespene gas. At first she had thought they were just robotic type beings. One of the marines had explained they were somehow more. "There's too much there for them just to be machines." Now she understood.  
  
The little creature extended an appendage that must have been used in mining it slowly cut into the chair. Little by little the metal gave until she could help it push the seat back.  
  
"Thank you." Terra smiled at it, cradling her left arm. "We have to go. We need to hide." It clicked in understanding. The little probe headed for the gap in the ship's side where it had entered and then turned and looked at here.  
  
"I'm following." This time Terra's grin was genuine. "Let's go."  
  
As she approached the entrance, Terra gaped in horror. The carnage outside was unlike any battlefield she had ever encountered. There were bodies of all races strewn about. Huge aircraft and tanks were lying in twisted heaps. The probe chirped again at her and headed toward a crag of rocks. It looked to be a good hike away. Terra swallowed and grimly made her way through the gruesome landscape of Char. 


End file.
